Blessed be the mind, the heart, the hand,
That drew this icon fair,
Of beauty unsurpassable, yet sweet,
God's Mother, rapt in prayer.
All pure her face, her hands, her heart unseen,
Chaste, white rapture, as morning glow:
She ponders deep. Her sorrow shows,
She bears the weight of souls on earth below!
Awesone, yet so love-filled and so warm!
Immaculate! Her praise shall never cease,
In hearts that love and cherish her; God's Mother!
Totus tuus! Mary's littlest ones,
in the valley of Saint Therese.
May 28, 2019
May 27, 2019
God of power and mercy,
You destroy war and put down earthly pride.
Banish violence from our midst and wipe away our tears,
that we may all deserve to be called Your sons
and daughters.
Keep in your mercy those men and women
who have died in the cause of freedom
and bring them safely
into your kingdom of justice and peace.
We ask this though Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
May 26, 2019
O God, Who by the preaching and miracles of blessed Augustine,
Your Confessor and Bishop,
who shed upon the people the light of the true faith;
grant that, through his intercession,
the hearts of those that have gone astray
may return to the unity of Your truth,
and that we may be of one mind in doing Your will.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one world without end.
Amen.
May 25, 2019
O invincible defender of Holy Church's freedom,
Saint Gregory, by the firmness you showed
in maintaining the Church's rights against all her enemies,
stretch forth from Heaven your mighty arm,
to comfort her and defend her in the fearful battle
she wages with the powers of darkness.
Give strength to the venerable Pontiff
who has fallen heir not only to your throne,
but to the fearlessness of your mighty heart;
obtain for him the joy of beholding his holy endeavors
crowned by the triumph of the Church
and the return of the lost sheep into the right path.
Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit
lives and reigns world without end.
Amen.
May 24, 2019
Heavenly father, we put ourselves into your hands,
and pray that God will bless us and our families
during the wonderful months of summer.
May we all help make our home a place of relaxation,
joy, love, peace and safety.
May we be generous and considerate,
not thinking only about ourselves,
but helping others enjoy the blessings of a summertime.
Lord God, Creator of all things,
guide our steps and strengthen our hearts,
during these months of summer and vacation days.
Grant us refreshment of mind and body.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
May 23, 2019
O glorious and blessed Virgin!
Comfort the heart of your servant.
And persuaded by my Divine Savior
I honor you as His beloved Mother,
to whom He refuses nothing,
because you ask nothing contrary to His honor,
so let me speedily experience
your powerful intercession,
according to the tenderness of your motherly affection,
and His loving heart,
who mercifully grants the requests
and complied with the desires
of those that love and fear Him.
May 22, 2019
Dear St. Rita,
during your entire life on earth
you found your happiness by following the will of our heavenly Father.
Help me to be as trusting of God in all His designs for me.
Help me this day to give myself to Him as you did,
without limit, without fear, without counting the cost.
Help me to be generous in serving the needs of others,
patient in all difficulties,
forgiving toward all who injure me.
Help me to learn more deeply the great mystery of the Cross of Jesus,
so that by embracing it as you did,
I may come to experience its power to heal and to save.
Amen.
May 21, 2019
O blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother,
look down in mercy upon your loving children
who greatly hope and trust in thee.
Through you Jesus our Savior and our hope was given to the world;
and He has given You to us that we might hope still more.
Plead for us Your children, O sorrowful Mother.
Intercede for our separated sheep,
that with us in the one true fold
they may be united to the supreme Shepherd,
Pray for us all, dear Mother,
that by faith fruitful in good works
we may all deserve to see and praise God,
together with you, in our heavenly home.
Amen.
May 20, 2019
O Lord Jesus Christ,
Who granted to blessed Bernardine, Your Confessor,
a surpassing love for Your holy Name;
we beg You by his merits and intercession,
graciously pour into our hearts
the spirit of Your love.
Who lives and reigns,
with God the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
world without end.
Amen.
May 19, 2019
Lord Jesus Christ,
You are the Author of Life,
who died and now lives forevermore.
May we who work and pray
that children in the womb may be protected
Always draw strength, confidence, and joy
From Your victory over death,
For you are Lord forever and ever.
Amen.
May 18, 2019
My Queen and my Mother,
I give myself entirely to you;
and to show my devotion to you,
I consecrate to you this day my eyes,
my ears, my mouth, my heart,
my whole being without reserve.
Wherefore, good Mother,
as I am your own,
keep me, guard me,
as your property and possession.
Amen.
May 17, 2019
Mother of the Redeemer,
with great joy we call you blessed.
In order to carry out His plan of salvation,
God the Father chose you before the creation of the world.
You believed in His love and obeyed His word.
The Son of God desired you for His Mother
when He became man to save the human race.
You received Him with ready obedience and undivided heart.
The Holy Spirit loved you as His mystical spouse
and filled you with singular gifts.
You allowed yourself to be led
by His hidden powerful action.
We entrust to you the Church
which acknowledges you and invokes you as Mother.
To you, Mother of human family and of the nations,
we confidently entrust the whole humanity,
with its hopes and fears.
Do not let it lack the light of true wisdom.
Guide its steps in the ways of peace.
Enable all to meet Christ,
the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Sustain us, O Virgin Mary, on our journey of faith
and obtain for us the grace of eternal salvation.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Mother of God
and our Mother, Mary!
May 16, 2019
I adore You O God,
I count myself as nothing before Your Divine Majesty.
You alone are Being, Life, Truth, Beauty and Goodness.
I glorify You, I praise You,
I give You thanks and I love You,
all helpless and unworthy as I am,
in union with Your dear Son, Jesus Christ,
our Savior and our Brother,
in the merciful kindness of His Heart
and through His infinite merits.
I desire to serve You,
to please You,
to obey You and to love You always,
in union with Mary Immaculate,
Mother of God and our Mother,
loving also and serving my neighbor for the love of You.
May 15, 2019
St. Isidore, St. Isidore,
To you we ask, to you we implore:
Please let it (or not) shine or pour,
Bring on the bee, hold off the hoar;
Coax the oat, swell the meat
Of grape and nut;
encourage the wheat
To ripen fat in August heat
Then lay down, brown, for us to beat.
Sweeten the soil's sour grievance.
Correct the mustard's weak malfeasance,
Raise up the corn in rows of tassel,
Bow down the cherry as a fruitful vassal;
O Guardian of squash and tendrilled pea,
Hoeing away at sanctity,
All ills of bud and vine and lea,
But mostly our garden, remedy.
May 14, 2019
Holy Mary, you are the Mother of Mercies,
the sweet comforter
and only refuge of the needy and the orphan,
of the desolate and afflicted.
Cast, therefore,
an eye of pity on a miserable,
forlorn child of Eve,
and hear my prayer; for since,
in just punishment of my sins,
I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils,
and oppressed with much anguish of spirit,
wither can I fly for more secure shelter,
O amiable Mother of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
than under the wings of you maternal protection?
Please listen, with an ear of pity and compassion,
to my humble and earnest request.
The Columbans are a society of missionaries, including priests and lay people, who minister to people of various cultures as a way of witnessing to the universal love of God.